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ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Power has agreed to pay more than $1.58 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 24 former employees or job applicants who said the company fired them or denied them jobs because of their disabilities.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a news release that the Atlanta utility violated the law by disregarding physicians’ opinions that the people were able to return to work or to do the jobs they applied for after their conditions improved. Officials said the utility would instead neither hire disabled applicants nor allow recently disabled employees to return to work.

The commission says both actions violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Georgia Power has denied accusations of discrimination, but says it has agreed to change some of its policies.

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